Masonry Magazine June 1999 Page. 34
March Construction
Continued from page 33
Down side, office construction in March dropped 23 percent, which Murray noted was "probably just a temporary departure from recent strength, since the office market continues to see relatively low vacancy rates and rising rents." Also reporting March declines were public buildings (courthouses and detention facilities), down 31 percent; and healthcare facilities, down 5 percent.
During the first three months of 1999, total construction on an unadjusted basis was one percent above the same period a year ago. Residential building and nonbuilding construction registered respective gains of 7 and 11 percent compared to 1998, outweighing a 10 percent drop for nonresidential building. By geography, four of the five major regions showed greater contracting the South Central, up 7 percent; the Midwest, up 4 percent; the Northeast, up 2 percent; and the South Atlantic, up one percent. The West was the only region not able to post an increase, witnessing a 5 percent decline compared to the first three months of 1998.
F.W. Dodge, a business unit of the McGraw-Hill information Group, has been the nation's leading source of construction information since 1891. The McGraw-Hill Construction Information Group includes a power network of brands, including F.W. Dodge, the Sweet's Group, Engineering News-Record, Design-Build, and Architectural Record.
Managing a Profitable Jobsite
Continued from page 12
These managers - lacking the ability and/or ambition to tackle the more ethereal, harder-to-grasp problems like those discussed above-simply took the easy way out by opting to focus on smaller, trivial, yet easily distinguishable aspects of business - all in the name of sound management. Besides being misdirected, this nit-picky strategy only served to create animosity between the managers and employees who simply viewed the actions as pettiness. In addition, this management style would inevitably come back to haunt the manager when later juxtaposed with the spending of (perhaps) hundreds of the company's dollars for an executive trip, golf outing, or other "marketing" event.
The point is: don't get lured into this trap. Overall productivity is - and always will be your goal. The small stuff will take care of itself. Only by creating a productive working atmosphere-through implementation of the items we've discussed - will you begin to achieve the proficiency and efficiency required to generate more profit on the jobsite... and make real strides toward improving your company's bottom line.
EnerBlock™ R-values are first to be validated by NCMA program
EnerBlock™ insulated concrete block systems, products of West Materials Inc. of Minneapolis, are the first to be validated by a new R-value evaluation program offered by the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA). The voluntary program provides firms in the concrete block industry authentication of wall system insulation values using accepted national standards.
A key benefit to architects and building owners is assurance of reliable insulation value data for insulated concrete masonry wall systems that need to meet energy codes.
"A reliable independent evaluation of insulated masonry wall system R Values has been needed for a long time," says Lloyd West, president of long-time NCMA member firm West Materials Inc. "I welcome this development and I'm sure other manufacturers as well as specifiers and owners will be equally pleased."
NCMA's program description says that previously available information does not necessarily completely or accurately address the energy characteristics of entire wall systems, only separate components. Further, calculation methods might easily be applied incorrectly they require accurate professional application. The new program has been developed to reduce confusion for users and to increase confidence in the accuracy of reported values.
Details of the program are outlined in NCMA's "Procedure for Evaluation of Thermal Performance of Integrally-Insulated Concrete Masonry Walls." Any insulated block system producer may request NCMA evaluations, which are fee based. Applying existing national energy code standards, NCMA uses either of two proven, accepted methods - authentication of actual wall test results using ASTM procedures, or the ASHRAE series-parallel procedure for calculating the overall coefficient of heat transfer.
For a copy of the program description, call NCMA at 703-713-1900. For information on the evaluations of West Materials' EnerBlock insulated concrete block systems, call Lloyd West, 612-892-7305 (fax 612-892-7573).
For Mason's Hydrated Lime...
Contractors and Architects Rely on MIRACLE MORTA-LOK®
Type "S" hydrated mason's lime
Outstanding workability saves time and money
A unique combination of strength and elasticity
Meets all national specifications (ASTM, UBC, BOCA, SBCC)
Available nationwide
CELL VENT WEEP HOLE VENTILATOR
Easy moisture drainage
Easy installation
Custom sizes and colors available
Ideal for most masonry applications
Available nationwide
Distributors wanted
U.S. WIRE, INC.
731 N Prior Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
Phone: (612) 646-4523